CAMPAIGN 2012

Romney: Obama Doesn’t Get the Economy

Responding to President Obama’s barrage of attack ads on his work in private equity at Bain Capital, likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney fired back with an above-the-fray assessment of what he termed his opponent’s lack of understanding of basic economics.

“There’s no question that he’s attacking capitalism, in part because I think he doesn’t understand how the free economy works,” Romney said in an appearance on Fox & Friends. “He’s never had a job in the free economy, neither has Vice President Biden. They’ve spent their lives as either community organizers or members of the political class, and frankly the American people understand that free economy and free enterprise is tough – it’s hard work.”

Citing a recent report by Bain Capital, Romney said that the firm was successful 80 percent of the time, and that only 5 percent of investments ended in bankruptcies. “That's a pretty good record. And if all the president wants to do is talk about the failures, why, he's misrepresenting the nature of free enterprise,” he said.

Romney also disputed the Obama campaign’s frequent assertion that a Romney presidency would return the country to the policies of the George W. Bush administration. He ticked off proposals that he said are brand new, like repealing Obama’s health care plan, revamping U.S. energy policy, and slashing federal spending.

“He’s doubled the deficit. He doesn’t want to talk about the fact that this kind of deficit, this kind of spending, is scaring away job creators,” Romney said. “His National Labor Relations Board and union stooge effort he’s put in place has made it much more difficult for small businesses to decide to hire and grow. These are new problems we have that have been created by President Obama. They need new solutions; we’re going to get this economy going again.”

ADVERTISEMENT

The Obama campaign and a super PAC supporting the president’s reelection have aired millions of dollars in ads featuring everyday workers who describe losing their jobs after Bain took over local companies and shuttered them.